Hill Movers: Staffing changes at the offices of Blair, Duclos and Bennett

Manel Menouar has joined Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair’s office as a senior policy advisor.

She joined Blair’s office in February, after a year as a policy advisor for the office of the President of the Treasury Board, her LinkedIn shows.

Menouar studied political science and law at Concordia University, then went on to complete a masters in international law at the University of Montreal before starting her career in politics with a parliamentary internship in May 2017. Another internship with the Treasury Board Secretariat the following summer led to a full-time special assistant political communications role with Office of the President of the Treasury Board.

She held that position within the treasury board office from Sept. 2018 to February of last year, before moving up to a policy advisor role.

Meanwhile, Michael Paramathasan joined the office of the President of the Treasury Board Jean-Yves Duclos as a senior policy advisor, as of February.

Paramathasan, who studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Royal College of Colombo, and the Queen Mary University of London, joins that office after a year as a senior policy advisor to the Minister of Science and the Minister of Sport, according to his LinkedIn.

Prior to that position, he served as a senior advisor to Ontario’s Minister of Government and Consumer Services and the Registrar General from 2016 t0 2018, when the Ontario Liberals were in power at Queen’s Park.

From 2014 to 2016, Paramathasan worked in the executive office of the Consul General of the United States in Toronto.

Finally, Charlotte McKenna started a new role as a policy advisor to Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett last month.

McKenna completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University in 2014 and is currently working towards a law degree at the University of Windsor, according to her LinkedIn page. She first joined the Liberal Party as a summer intern in May 2015, which led to a four month position as a party operations coordinator.

In Nov. 2015, McKenna began a position as a legislative assistant for then-MP Doug Eyolfson, who represented the Winnipeg area riding of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley. She stayed in that role for a year a half, before transitioning to a legislative assistant position for the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

After the department was split into two in 2017, McKenna joined the office of the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, initially holding titles as a legislative assistant and parliamentary affairs advisor, before her most recent promotion in April.